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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch courtesy of
Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN (ret.)

Shark (SS-174)

Radio Call Sign: November - Alpha - Zulu - Bravo

Shark Class Submarine: Laid down, 24 October 1933, at the Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT.; Launched, 21 May 1935; Commissioned USS Shark (SS-174), 25 January 1936; Lost to enemy action, approximately 11 February 1942, presumed to have been hit by enemy naval gun fire in the vicinity of the Celebes Islands. Post-war Japanese records showed numerous attacks on unidentified submarines in Shark's area at plausible times. At 01:37 on 11 February, the Japanese destroyer Yamakaze opened fire with her five-inch guns and sank a surfaced submarine. Voices were heard in the water, but no attempt was made to rescue possible survivors. Shark (SS-174) received one battle star for World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,316 t., Submerged: 1,968 t.; Length 298' 1" ; Beam 25' 1"; Draft 13' 10"; Speed, Surfaced 19.5 kts, Submerged 8.25 kts; Complement 5 Officers 45 Enlisted; Armament, six 21" torpedo tubes, (including two deck firing tubes), 16 torpedoes, one 3"/50 deck gun, two .50 cal machine guns, two .30 cal machine guns; Propulsion, diesel-electric, Winton diesel engines, HP 4300, fuel capacity 86,675 gal., Elliot Motor Co. electric motors, HP 2085, battery cells, 240. twin screws.

Size	Image Description	Source
28k	Commemorative postal cover marking Shark's (SS-174) launching, 21 May 1935 at the Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT. .	Courtesy of of Jack Treutle.
224k	Shark (SS-174) the day before launching, at the Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT., 20 May 1935. Note the P3 on her bow.	US Navy photo, courtesy of SN Alan A. Palmer, in memory of his uncle TM3 John M. Worsham, who lost his life in Shark approximately 11 February 1942.
27k	Broadsheet announcement of Shark's (SS-174) launch, 21 May 1935 at the Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT.	US Navy photo, courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
96k	Shark (SS-174) about to slide down the launching ways, 21 May 1935 at the Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT.	Photo courtesy of the Electric Boat Company and the US Navy.
89k	Shark (SS-174) immediately after launching by the Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut, 21 May 1935.	U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 42075.
64k	Shark (SS-174) immediately after launching by the Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut, 21 May 1935.	USN photo.
79k	Interior photo of the Shark's (SS-174) crew quarters 3 July 1935. The view is looking forward.	US Navy / Electric Boat Company photo, courtesy of rddesigns.com.
50k	Shark's (SS-174) Conning Tower under construction, 19 Oct 1935.	US Navy / Electric Boat Company photo, courtesy of rddesigns.com.
18k	Commemorative postal cover marking Shark's (SS-174) shakedown cruise, 29 March 1936.	Courtesy of of Jack Treutle.
119k	Holland (AS-3) with seven submarines alongside, circa 1936-1939. These "boats" are, from left to right: Nautilus (SS-168); Narwhal (SS-167); Shark (SS-174), marked *"P3"; Dolphin* (SS-169), marked *"D1"; Porpoise* (SS-172), marked *"P1"; Pike* (SS-173), marked *"P2"; and Tarpon* (SS-175), marked *"P4"*.	NH # 3036, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
82k	Holland (AS-3) with seven submarines alongside, circa 1936-1939. These "boats" are, from left to right: Nautilus (SS-168); Narwhal (SS-167); Shark (SS-174), marked *"P3"; Dolphin* (SS-169), marked *"D1"; Porpoise* (SS-172), marked *"P1"; Pike* (SS-173), marked *"P2"; and Tarpon* (SS-175), marked *"P4"*.	NH # 3037, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
90k	Holland (AS-3) with seven submarines alongside, circa 1936-1939. These "boats" are, from left to right: Nautilus (SS-168); Narwhal (SS-167); Shark (SS-174), marked *"P3"; Dolphin* (SS-169), marked *"D1"; Porpoise* (SS-172), marked *"P1"; Pike* (SS-173), marked *"P2"; and Tarpon* (SS-175), marked *"P4"*.	NH # 3038, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
96k	Holland (AS-3) with seven submarines alongside, circa 1936-1939. These "boats" are, from left to right: Nautilus (SS-168); Narwhal (SS-167); Shark (SS-174), marked *"P3"; Dolphin* (SS-169), marked *"D1"; Porpoise* (SS-172), marked *"P1"; Pike* (SS-173), marked *"P2"; and Tarpon* (SS-175), marked *"P4"*.	NH # 3039, courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.
171k	Bow view of the S-34 (SS-139) tied up to wharf, taken in the mid to late 30's, probably in Pearl Harbor. The sub is getting a new battery. The new cells are loaded on the railcars to the right. The photo was dated by looking at the sub moored behind it. It is a fleet boat, and probably a *Pike/Permit* class. It is painted black, so that puts it in the later 1930's. Also, the *S-34's* skeg has been cut away as part of a safety and maintenance mod, and that was done in April, 1932. The *S-34* was stationed almost exclusively in the P.I. and Pearl until 1941. The mountainous background looks a lot like Pearl (although it may be Subic or Cavite).	US Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org. Photo i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR), Darryl Baker & John Hummel. Text i.d. courtesy of David Johnston (USNR) & Darryl Baker.
17k	Commemorative postal cover marking Fleet Maneuvers of the following subs off Midway, 5 April 1937: Argonaut (SS-166), Nautilus (SS-168), Dolphin (SS-169), Porpoise (SS-172), Pike (SS-173), & Shark (SS-174) .	Courtesy of Jack Treutle.
65k	Official model of the Shark (SS-174), photographed circa 1938 by her builder, the Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut.	Photograph # 19-N-16680, from the Bureau of Ships Collection of the U.S. National Archives.
46k	Portside bow view of the Shark (SS-174) broaching.	US Navy photo, courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
64k	The future commander of the Shark (SS-174), Louis Shane, Jr. He is pictured here in what would be a double celebration with his future wife Marjorie; his graduation from Annapolis & their wedding day, 1926. She never remarried after his loss. "For 20 years after the loss of the *Shark* she continued to express the hope that he was on a deserted island somewhere in the Pacific waiting for rescue."	Photo & text courtesy of his grandson, John Shane.
10k	Louis Shane, Jr., Lieutenant Commander (Commanding Officer) of the Shark (SS-174) at the time of her loss.	Photo courtesy of oneternalpatrol.com.
50k	Color drawing of the *Shiratsuyu class* destroyer *Yamakaze. According to Submarines Lost Through Enemy Action* sank the Shark (SS-174) on 11 Feb 42.	Photo courtesy of combinedfleet.com.
41k	Google Earth satellite photo of the site and surrounding islands of Shark's (SS-174) last approximate position based during post-war debriefings. This position is thought to be the final resting place of the *Shark* and her crew.	View courtesy of Google Earth.
117k	The wife of a World War II U.S. submarine veteran, tosses a flower into a reflecting pool to honor the memory of one of the 52 submarines lost during World War II at the National Submarine Memorial-West on board Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif. On this Veterans Day, the Submarine Veterans of World War II transferred ownership of the memorial to the U.S. Navy. The following text is from The Coming Fury by Bruce Catton., pg. 478. "Major Sullivan Bullen of Illinois was killed in the battle, and just before it he had written to his wife, Sarah, to tell her that he believed he was going to be killed and to express a tremulous faith that could see a gleam of light in the dark: "But O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and float unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you in the gladdest days and in the gloomiest nights, always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your chest it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait, for we shall meet again!"	U.S. Navy photo # N-1159B-021 by Journalist 2nd Class Brian Brannon, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
10k	Memorial Stone for the Shark's (SS-174) crew in Oklahoma.	Photo courtesy of csp.navy.mil.
47k	In memory of the Shark's (SS-174) crew. In Memorium: In the Second Book of Shmuel (Samuel), 22nd chapter, 5th through the 20th verses, translated from the original in Hebrew and published by the Koren Publishers of Jerusalem, Israel, 1982, can perhaps aptly describe the fate of the crew and all other U.S. submariners who died defending their county: "When the waves of death compassed me / the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; / the bonds of She'ol encircled me; / the snares of death took me by surprise; / in my distress I called upon the Lord, / and cried to my G-D: / and he heard my voice out of his temple, / and my cry entered into his ears. / Then the earth shook and trembled; /the foundations of heaven moved / and shook because of his anger /...the heavy mass of waters, and thick clouds of the skies /... And the channels of the sea appeared, / the foundations of the world were laid bare, / at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast at the breath of his nostrils. / He sent from above, he took me; / he drew me out of many waters; / he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me. / They surprised me in the day of my calamity: / but the Lord was my stay..."	Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen.